Would You Drink Tequila from Scotland?

Opening a tequila company in Scotland sounds a bit absurd: Not only is agave a warm-weather plant, and not only is the spirit far from traditional in the northern British country, but technically, tequila also has to be produced in the area around the Mexican city of Tequila, over 8,000 miles from the shores of Scotland. But don’t bother Michael Ballantyne and Ross Davidson with any of those details: Last year, the duo launched UWA Tequila, Scotland’s first tequila company, and now, their company is releasing its first tequila with a Scottish twist, a reposado aged in Speyside Scotch whisky casks.

UWA Tequila’s reposado is the second of the Aberdeen-based company’s planned three core products. The brand's blanco and reposado is set for release by the end of this month. To produce this barrel-aged tequila, UWA had to send Scotch casks from its home in Scotland all the way to the city of Tequila where the company “works in collaboration with a leading Mexican tequila distiller.” Once completed, the tequila gets sent back to the British Isles and the odd-sounding Scottish tequila is complete. Along the way, UWA claims that this is the first time a tequila has been created by ageing it in Scotch whisky casks without combining different blends.

“UWA Tequila is like nothing else on the drinks market at the moment,” Ballantyne said in a statement. “Being native Scots and knowing our whisky’s rather well, we simply took inspiration from the whisky industry and applied it to our tequila. Ageing in various casks gives each one a unique expression, and we wanted to be the first people to do something really different in the tequila industry.”

“We make the tequila in the same way as anyone else does, but the fact we started out with an industry first, using Single Malt Scotch whisky casks, really does make our tequila stand out,” Ross Davidson, the other co-founder and COO, added. “Traditionally companies use American bourbon casks for ageing tequila so we’ve taken a really innovative approach in doing something completely different to the norm.”

For those interested in trying this Scottish tequila, UWA says that the £55 bottles are currently available for pre-order before hitting “numerous high-end shops, independent drinks stores, and various bars and restaurants” in the UK by the end of the month. The reposado is also slated to hit the U.S. market in December.